Sunday, November 16, 2008

Early Onset Twilight by Carl Annarummo

The history of a city with its lights turned off. Its ghosts clad ineurethanes in the western outskirts, sitting with hiccups in neonalcoholic rooms. This city was once an anagram for the poor. The busroutes traced into air with rust and washed away in the drawl ofamerican water. Someone left their list of favorite songs in thefrozen food aisle. Big songs lorn in the titty bars where backupsingers follow you home with their hair muffling the russet scrims ofthe traveling skyline. There's been a power outage. Smoke rises from atire fire. A hundred Days Inn employees enter the throes that comeswith dealing with strangers in the night as the fires are off by duskand the nights erase the heat. Pretty soon, you, the backup sigers,the Days Inn maid staff, the strange firefighters, the tire-fireonlookers, and myself all gather in the house of whoever has agenerator and we we'll all share stories and occasionally throw upfrom the smell of the burning rubber and by morning we'll all be gone.

Carl Annarummo runs the chapbook press "Greying Ghost"(www.airforcejoyride.com). He currently lives in the Boston area.